More cushions for Lyle

I've been making more cushion covers for my friend Lyle - yes, the boy is cushion mad! And also has a very large sofa to fill.

I bought the fabric a while ago on sale, because it was so Lyle, so I thought I'd put it away til he needed something made. Here's a closer shot of that lovely kimono fabric:

I also have this fabric to make 2 more from. I'm just making simple slip covers - no quilting or lining or patching - so I should get these done this afternoon if I can find some coordinating thread:

And best of all, I grossly over-estimated the fabric I needed so I'll have nearly a yard left of each to make myself a nice bag or something.

More blocks

I finished my disappearing nine-patches this morning. I'll need to trim them a bit (you'd think even I could put such simple blocks together accurately, but you'd be wrong!) so hopefully they won't end up too small to join the group project for these.





Oh, and the biggest excitement in my life right now is that I won one of Melly & Me's auctions, so Rosalie Quinlan is going to make this bag for me! Isn't that so exciting? Melly and Rosalie did so well with their auction, raising so much money for the Red Cross for the bushfire victims.

Rainy day sewing

It's cool and rainy today so a great day to stay inside and sew.


I've been making these bright crayon box blocks this morning for a quilt the group I am in is making for a family who lost their home in the fires:



We're making a quilt for each member of the family, so these blocks obviously are for the children's quilts. They actually don't look to bad in the photo. I thought they were a bit blindingly garish in real life but they come together well here! The crayon box pattern is by Bonnie of Quiltville. We're also making a masculine log cabin and a pretty disappearing nine patch for the Mum and Dad.


I've also put together a few library bags for the the comfort packs:

I made mine out of patchwork fabrics so I've had to line them to give them added strength and durability.

Toni and others have made the good point that often we forget about the older children and teenagers when making relief items. So I hope to make some nice totes trendy enough for the more fashion conscious too!

I'm impatiently waiting for the auction at Melly & Me to close! I am bidding on a handmade Rosalie Quinlan item of my choice. And while in a way, it would be good to be outbid because it means more money raised for the relief effort, I'm also pretty keen to win and get myself a handmade goody!

Some recent bag projects

Both of these bags were gifts so I haven't been able to post pics until now, so I wouldn't spoil the surprise. Now that they have reached their respective recipients, I can share some pics.


I made this black and white tote for a secret birthday swap. I made it out of some crazy black and white blocks I put together a little while ago, and made it big and roomy. It's not perfect - I kind of struggled with the buttonholes and I was running out of black thread so couldn't quilt it the way I wanted to, but I hope the birthday girl liked it anyway. I normally make really girly bags with lots of embellishments so my aim in this one was to make one suitable for everyday use that would go with lots of outfits.





And this very girly bag was for the Valentine's swap run by Kris of Dandelion Quilts. And by the luck of the draw, Kris was my swap partner and she has said some lovely kind things about my gifts on her blog!

I'll be back on bag lady duty this weekend as I want to whip up a few library bags for Beyond Pink & Blue's comfort packs.

Bushfire Relief

For those wanting to do a bit more than donate money for the bushfire survivors, there are some great ideas going around with generous bloggers and crafters organising some worthwhile relief projects.

Beyond Pink and Blue is putting together comfort packs for children who have lost everything in the fires, to keep them entertained in the months ahead as their parents go about rebuilding their lives. I hope to spend time this weekend whipping up some library bags and will be sending some books and toys along as well.

Cindy has set up a Handmade Help site where talented crafters from everywhere are donating items for sale and auction. I don't think I have anything finished or good enough to sell, but I think I'll have a good browse through and do some shopping there instead.

Meet Me at Mikes has a really good list of the different ways people can help.

Melly & Me are holding a silent auction of handmade items and patterns.

Penny Rug Coasters

I started making these Wool Penny Coasters from Wee Folk Art last weekend, and still haven't finished. They're harder than they look! I am really struggling to keep my stitches an even length and evenly spaced for some reason so I've been getting despondent and putting them aside. But check out the Wee Folk Art blog for lots of other amazing patterns. There is a cute gypsy toddler skirt which I am thinking of making for myself - the cutting instructions are given as a percentage of waist width and desired length so you could adjust this pattern to fit anyone. There's also some really cute bookmarks.

I found a couple of other really gorgeous free penny rug patterns at BHG: Hippity Hop Table Rug and Valentine Penny Rug.

Lastly, spare a thought for all of the people suffering in the bush fires in Victoria today. So far it seems 26 have lost their loves and countless families have lost their homes and everything they own. Jeremy has had the news on all day, but I just can't face it. It is just too tragic.

Giveaway at Red Boot Quilt Company

As much as I want to keep this a secret so I have a better chance of winning myself, I am such a fan of Toni's work I can't help myself! Get along to The Red Boot Quilt Company's blog now for a pattern giveaway!

No willpower

Oh, I'm a bad, bad person. I knew the parcel waiting for me when I got home from work was my Valentine swap gift. I thought about leaving it til the 14th to open ..... but couldn't help myself. In my defense, I did have a bad day so needed some cheering up.

So, in my parcel was this darling package with the cutest pink bow:

And you can imagine how thrilled I was when I opened it to reveal this amazing quilt. It is just beautifully pieced and quilted. It is a 36" table topper. I'm going to think where I can put it - nowhere where it will be at risk of spills that's for sure! It may even end up on a wall.

And here is a close up of the lovely wool applique centre:

So thank you Sheri, the talented and generous quilter who sent me this lovely package (including a pattern so I can make my own table quilt - unfortunately my camera just decided to run out of battery, so I can't take a photo of it). Sheri, I hope your secret Valentine spoils you just as much as you have spoiled me. Thank you so much! You really made my day! A big thank you to Kris too who coordinated this fun swap.

Finished binding

I must be mad in this heat, but I finally finished putting my binding on my disappearing nine patch quilt. So I may be a day late to include this for my January finished projects, but at least I can say I completed a project the first day in February.

I'm not a great quilter, so there isn't much to be said about the quilting really. A few straight lines. I did start meandering in the border but then lost interest and got sick of trying to get my machine's tension right so the stitches were neat on the back. There is still a little of the meandering there, I still need to unpick it. Regardless, I declare this project finished.

Oh, shoot!

Oh shoot (this is not what I said out loud, of course, just the sanitised blog version), is it really Feb 1st today? Well I have to confess I didn't finish any of the projects I thought I might use for the one project a month challenge. While I should have been quilting and binding other projects, I have this weekend been working on the Cocount Ice kit, a quick and pretty design by Honeysuckle Cottage.

The fabrics were just so pretty:

And the design so quickly pieced, yet effective:

I couldn't help myself.

So, in retrospect, I am going to have to nominate the gift I made for the Valentines Swap as my finished project for January. But she probably hasn't received it yet, so I can't show a picture. But I really, really did finish something in January! Spice will vouch for me:

Would that face lie?